In a joint PBA Northwest/West Regional event in Reno, Nev., on July 25,
Steven Black (pictured) of Phoenix won for his third time in the last four events in the Sands Regency Casino Summer Classic at High Sierra Lanes.
Black, who won $2,000, defeated
Curtis Woods Jr. of Santa Rosa, Calif., 184-179, for his fifth career PBA regional title.
Bryon Smith of Roseburg, Ore., the 2002 USBC Masters champ, finished third. Exempt players
Dave Arnold, Dublin, Calif., and
Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., finished fourth and ninth, respectively.
Adam Baer of Gettysburg, Pa., became the latest PBA member to qualify for the $1 million PBA Tournament of Champions when he won his first PBA Regional title Aug. 29 in the PBA East Region's Mil-Ray Foods Open at Brunswick Zone Turnersville in Turnersville, N.J. Baer defeated Terry Decker Jr. of Philadelphia, Pa., 238-210, to win $2,500 and an invitation to enter the Champions field at the Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, Jan. 15-22.
"It's like a miracle," Denise Roth said after watching husband Mark Roth, a Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer and one of the greatest bowlers in history, walk unaided on the approach and throw a 12-pound bowling ball for the first time in more than 14 months. Since Roth, 59, suffered a massive stroke in late May 2009 that left the left side of his body paralyzed, he has refused to give up the fight to regain his life. His first public appearance following his stroke was at the GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship in late March. 
A handful of PBA players have visited the "home of humility," the Petersen Classic at AMF Hoffman Lanes in suburban Chicago, where averaging 200 for eight games across 16 lanes is a feat even the greatest players cherish. In 2009, PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke (pictured) tried the Petersen Classic for the first time and posted a 1,448 total – a 181 average. In late July, he returned and missed the magical 200 average milestone by a single pin, shooting 1,599 with a 171 final game.
Six of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour's top stars are heading to Munich, Germany, where they will represent the United States as members of Team USA in the 2010 WTBA Men's World Championships Aug. 12-21. Chris Barnes (l.), Wes Malott (r.), Bill O'Neill, Tommy Jones, Rhino Page and Patrick Allen will compete for Singles, Doubles, Trios, five-man Team, All-Events and Masters medals against competitors from 67 other countries.
Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour exempt players Chris Barnes (l.) of Double Oak, Texas; Joe Ciccone (r.) of Buffalo, N.Y., were among July 18 winners in PBA Regional competitions. Barnes picked up his 20th career PBA Regional title, winning the PBA Southwest/Midwest Region Jonesboro Super Regional at Jonesboro Bowling Center. Ciccone won his 12th PBA Regional title in the PBA Central Region in the PBA Central Region Dan Kondas Memorial Open.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. is taking a mid-summer break from bowling to pursue his other passion, horseshoe pitching. The six-time World Horseshoe Pitching Champion and member of the National Horseshoe Pitching Hall of Fame will compete in a tournament in Danville, Ill., July 10-11, before heading to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where – uncharacteristically – he questions whether or not he can win. “I wish that I could be more competitive at the world tournament, but
the reality is that a top five finish would be pretty good for me right
now,” Williams said. 
In case you think there’s not much going on in the world of bowling during the summer months, PBA.com’s Xtra Frame online video streaming service will demonstrate otherwise. While the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour begins gearing up for fall, the summer months belong to the PBA Senior Tour and the PBA’s seven regional programs, and that’s where Xtra Frame will turn its attention. 
PBA players are spanning the globe during the "off season," some of them helping to create international exposure for the bowling product companies they represent, and others gaining more competitive experience. In mid-May, native Finlander Mika Koivuniemi (l.) won the 7th Istanbul Open in Turkey. English star Stuart Williams (r.) captured his first Asian title a week earlier by winning the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open in Manama.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. (l.) finished third in the GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship Sunday, losing a 255-237 decision to eventual champion Brian Ziesig, but it earned Williams four points in the 2009-10 PBA Player of the Year race, creating a tie with Bill O'Neill (r.) heading into the Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open, the final regular-season event this week in Baltimore. Mike Scroggins was still in the race in third place with
48 points.
With his second victory of the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season, Mike Scroggins (l.) has turned the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year race into a three-man sprint heading into the final three events of the season. By picking up 16 points with his win in the Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, Scroggins now has 48 points, eight behind leader Bill O’Neill (r.) of and four behind Walter Ray Williams Jr. 
With only four "standard" events remaining in the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour regular season, newly-crowned U.S. Open champion Bill O'Neill (pictured) of Southampton, Pa., has taken a four-point lead over venerable Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., in the 2009-10 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year points race. O'Neill, in making his tour-best fifth TV appearance of the season, earned 24 points for a total of 56 to take the lead from Williams.
Subscribers to pba.com's online live video-streaming service, Xtra Frame, were the first to see Brian Voss (pictured left) convert the 7-10 split in a critical eighth-frame situation during match play position round in the Bayer Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles last Friday. The successful conversion helped Voss and partner Diandra Asbaty earn the fifth qualifying position for Sunday's live ESPN finals, and from that point, they went on to win the tournament. Since Friday, Voss' "miracle shot" has become a YouTube sensation. 
With his second USBC Masters title, Walter Ray Williams Jr. (l.) continues to write his own version of the PBA Record Book. The Masters was Williams' record 47th PBA Tour title, increasing his edge over the late Earl Anthony's (r.) 43 to four titles. Williams also has taken the lead in the 2009-10 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year points race and is trying for a record seventh PBA
Player of the Year title. He is currently tied for the lead with
Anthony with six each.
The biggest question of the PBA Tour season is, who will become the next unlikely hero in a season filled with unlikely heroes. He or she could emerge from the 67th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open, the final major championship of the 2009-10 season. Thus far, Tom Smallwood (l.) won the PBA World Championship and Kelly Kulick (r.) stunned the sports world with her victory in the PBA Tournament of Champions.
PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke (l.) began defense of his One A Day® Dick Weber Open title Wednesday as competition got underway at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif. Sunday's finals will shift from the PBA's normal home on ESPN to "the Deuce" – ESPN2 (1 p.m. Eastern) – for this week only. In addition to Duke trying for his 34th career title, Hall of Famer Pete Weber (r.) will try to win his 35th in the event named after his legendary father.